Iranian convert sentenced to five years for ‘Christian Zionism’

Today's news: UN Security Council votes on Gaza ceasefire resolution; Taipei arrested a Chinese citizen for ‘illegal entry’ by sea; Indonesia's population has the highest ingestion of microplastics among 109 countries in the world; Manhunt by Indian soldiers in Kashmir after an attack on a pilgrim bus; Tokyo wants to strengthen economic cooperation with Central Asian countries. 

IRAN
An Iranian Christian, a convert from Islam who has been in prison for months, was sentenced to five years in prison for acting ‘against national security’ by communicating with ‘Christian “Zionist” organisations’. The 37-year-old Esmaeil Narimanpour had already been forced into religious ‘re-education’ courses. He is part of a group of 50 people imprisoned by the authorities during the Christmas holidays. 

ISRAEL - PALESTINE - UN
The UN Security Council approved the US draft resolution supporting the Gaza ceasefire plan announced by Joe Biden, and calls on Hamas to accept it. The text urges ‘both sides’ to implement its terms ‘without delay and without conditions’. Positive opinion from militiamen in the Strip. The draft was approved with 14 votes in favour and Russia abstaining.

TAIWAN - CHINA
Taiwan arrested for ‘illegal entry’ a Chinese citizen who had sailed a speedboat to the mouth of a river leading to the capital, amid deep tensions. The coast guard had spotted a suspicious boat 11 km off the coast of Tamsui in the north, which then collided with other ships at a ferry terminal. Initial information suggests it was a former captain who wanted to ‘test’ Taipei's defences. 

KOREA
The South Korean army fired warning shots after some soldiers from the North briefly crossed the border. The incident took place over the weekend, but was only made known by Seoul officials in the last few hours. At around 12.30 p.m. on 9 June, a patrol crossed the military demarcation line in the demilitarised zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, but the breach was allegedly unintentional because the wooded area had ‘obscured’ the border signs. 

MALAYSIA - INDONESIA - PHILIPPINES
People in South-East Asia such as Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines ingest the most microplastics among 109 countries. This is revealed by Cornell University, according to which Indonesians consume the most with 15 g per month (three credit cards) from aquatic sources such as fish and seafood. A 59-fold increase from 1990 to 2018.

INDIA
Soldiers launched a manhunt in Indian-controlled areas of Kashmir, a day after nine Hindu pilgrims visiting a temple were killed in one of the bloodiest attacks on civilians in the area. The attackers shot at the bus, also causing the death of a child. The vehicle ended its journey in a ravine, causing dozens of injuries. 

RUSSIA
As Memorial activists inform us, since the beginning of June, the police in Moscow and various regions of Russia have taken more decisive and ‘technological’ action against migrants, arresting hundreds of them who were trying to regularise their status. They used the facial recognition programme Sphere with video cameras in the subways to track them down.

JAPAN - KAZAKHSTAN
According to information published by Orda.kz, the Prime Minister of Japan Fumio Kishida plans to visit Kazakhstan and take part in the joint summit with the heads of state of the Central Asian countries at the beginning of August. The aim is to assess the prospects for economic cooperation, a move deemed by commentators as ‘a challenge to China’.